Dress-form.



P. F. QUINN.

DRESS FORM.

APPucATloN msn ocT. 31. 19m.

LQSQL Patented sept. 11,1917.

PATRICK rjoUINN, on CORONA, NEW YORK.

neuss-FORM.

i Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. ii, ieri.

Application filed October 31, 1912. Serial No. 728,862.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK F. Quinn,- a citizen of the United States, residing at Corona, county of Queens, and State of New 5 York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Dress-Foians,A Jrlully described and represented Y in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, `forming a part of the same.

This invention relates tothatA class oi ap"A parel apparatus known in the art as dress forms, and the invention resides in dress form of: novel character" and construction. It is an especial object of the' invention to 'provide a dress' fo-rin so constructed tlra'tgit may, when not in-` use, loep-ached or' stored 1n a very muchl smaller space" than thel iorins now in use,A either those of the' adyustahle or non-adjustable type; a dress forni which in weight will he very 1in-uch `less than the types of lforms now in'V use; a dress forni which can be cheaply made, but which, at the sameI ti1ne, will he durableV and capable of performing' the usestoA wh-ichlit may be put.

Broadly considered,fthe dress* forni of the present invention comprises a plurality ou, sections orY leaves of suitable ihateria-Al'soA cnnected together that they -niayl 'folded one upon-fthe other" when the forni is not inl use, but which may he quickly unfolded and positioned to produce the forni. A These sections are pivota-llyy connected andare arranged when unfolded to entendi-radially from a coninionA center, tli-e outer edges ot the sections being' variously shaped, soy that when the sections are unfolded or` opened and brought intof position, aforni voft the* desired shape willbeproduced.

detailed description of the invention, embodied in what isconsicliered t'hebest' con# struction for carrying` it' intof effect, will giv'e a better understanding thereof, and suclr de` scri-ption' will new` hei given; in connection withL the accornp anying'drawings,-in which- Figure 1 is a Vfront elevationoiiV a forni, the' form shownbeingwliat isknown Aas a hust for-inl, and show-n inf its unfoldedr or open' position; p

Figi@ is a top View, partlyv sectioinof the form shown in Fig. l; 1 1` i Fig. 31 perspective view" of the forni folded# tog'e'tlierjand* removed from" supporting standard;

Fig;V -l is a View; partly iin crossfsect'ion showing the connecting devices for securing the sections together;

Fig. isa View of one oi' the connecting hinges;

Fig. 6 is a View, partly in section and partly broken away, of the preferred means or hold-ing the forni rigidly open position; y

Fig. 7 is yadetailfiew showiiig' one oi the Vpreier-red iornis of the spacing devices ein- -ployed for' limiting the opening movelnent th-e sections, and l Fig. 8 is a detail view, partly broken away, of al convenient device for increasing the length of the forni.

p Referring now to these drawings, the forni shown is what is1 known as a bust torni which includes the configuration ofI a bust and the" upper portion off the hips.` The forni in `accordzuice with the invention vc'oihposed of a plurality of sections l which are secured togethers() that they may be folded upon each other lengthwise. The sections `l are preferably fiat or leaf-shaped land coinposedloi' suitable light material, such as;y papier nitch.` The' outline of the outer edge oi? each section is such that when theI sections are assembled and opened out or unfolded', asshown in Fig. l, al forni ot the desired dimensions and coniigu-ration is produced, each of?` the' sections orleavesbeing for this purpose of somewhat diii'crcnt sli-ape along' its outer edge. The inner' edges of the sect'ifonsjare straight and when the orinf is opened are adapted to come close together and entend? radially from a colninon center, asclearly shown in- Fig. The sections are connected orl secured together so that they may be folded on one another lenfgthwise',N assliown` in Fig. 3', and thus be capable, when the forni .isk not in use, of be- Tlreconstruction employed for so, connecting the sections ina-y be somewhat varied,

but preferably the' sections will be; connected rtogether pivotally so* that they may be upper and lower` entreinities` thereof. The h-ingesQ are'4 iornied as hy slitting and bending, witlr opposltely disposed* ears" l", one of which is in a plane above the other, as shown in Fig. 5. Theseears receive pivot pins 5. lVith this construction in unitingthe sections, cach section is connected with the succeeding section, the lower ear of one of the hinges 2 being positioned under the upper ear of an adjacent hinge, the pivot pin passing through the two superposed ears. This means of connecting the sections is an eX- ceedingly convenient one in that such connections require little space, and when folded together, as shown in Fig. 3, the leaves or `sections fold together` compactly.

Means are preferably provided whereby the movement of the sections when unfolded to the position shown in Fig. 1 is limited so that the sections will be retained in their proper relative position and producethe desired conigurationfor the form. These means may be varied, but preferably will operate on the outer edges of the sections. Furthermore, they will be of such charac'- ter as to be yielding and not interfere with the folding up of the'sections into the de,

sired small compass, and, furthermore, will be of such character that each two adjacent sections will be. connected so that they will assist in opening the form and provide a construction whereby the sections of the formL may be simultaneously unfolded or brought into open position. 1n Fig. 1 such a means is shown, consisting of tapes 6, 7,

Y 8 and 9, secured to the edges of each of the sectionsas by stitching, these tapes eX- tending circumferentially around the form and preferably being four in number Vl0- cated at the waist, bust, lower edge of the form and at the neck. If desired, shoulder straps 11 may be provided passing over and connecting the sections where they form the shoulder portions of the form,y on the upper edges of such sections, the strips if desired consisting of tapes and acting to more firmly hold the sections in desired position. If desired, however, instead of the tapes sewed to the outer edges of the sections, strips or tapes 12 may be employed which are secured to the sections by rivets 13, and clips 14e, as illustrated in Fig. 7, this construction being somewhat stronger and more durable than that shown in Fig. 1.

When the form is opened, as sho-wn in Fig. 1, it is desirable that fastening means be provided for. securing the last two sections rigidly in place, so as to hold thev lform in position while it is being used. Va-

rious devices may be employed for that purpose, such as the hook and eye, 15, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, these hooks and eyes being attached respectively to the end sections lvand 17. A better construction for this purpose, however, is illustrated in Fig. 6, in which thereis provided a clip 1 8 pivotally secured at 19 to one of the end sections, as 16 vof the form, this clip being of dimensions vto embrace thetwo meeting edges of the "last two sections 16, 17 of the form, and hold the same firmly in position.

The form may be,.if desired, used without any additional support, the user simply standing it on a bench, table orrother convenient and suitable place. In some instances it is desirable that a support or stand be provided, and such a stand of improved construction is provided by the invention, though, if desired, other stands may be enrployed.

As illustrated, the support provided by 22isformed with an enlarged portion 31 which lies between the sets of hingesand forms a support for the sections. A This rod `22 telescopes into a rod 23 which supports the `form adjustably through a collar'and set screw 24,]oy which. the form.y may be elevated or depressed, as desired. .Asutable cap piece 26 may be providedif desired. i

A suitablecovering-27 of yielding material, indica-ted in dotted lines in Fig. 1, may

be used to cover `the form .when desired.

This covering may y form is to be folded up, if desired, or may be folded up with ,the form. l A .Y

As, before stated, the invention shown4V is applied to a bust form. It will be understood, however, that it can be applied to ,anyl length of form desirable. If a form with full hips is desiredLa convenient attachment is provided bythe present invention whereby the form may be lengthened o those dimensions, or Vto vlonger Vdimensions if desired. In the ,construction illustrated, each of the sections is provided at or near its outer edge withV an extension bepremoved when the member 28 which is in the formof a looped Y wirewhich passes through and is held by guide clips 29 which are riveted at.30 to the bottom of .each of thesections. When it is desired to employ a form of'somewhat .longer dimensionsthan Vthat illustrated in Fig. 1, the operator simply pulls the member 28 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.8.Y Y

lt will thus be seen that va novel type of .dress form has, been producedl by the pre`sent invention and one which is exceedingly convenient` because of the ease `of manipulation, saving of space required in packing or storing, and cheapness. Furthermore, because of these advantages, a user may have a large number of forms of different sizes and dimensions, which may be used in place of the cumbersome, heavy and expensive forms now in use.

The invention has been shown and described in its preferred form. It is obvious, however, that many changes and variations may he made in the same Without departing' from the invention, and it is understood that such changes and departures may be made Without affecting the scope of the invention.

In a dress form, a plurality of connected sections 'oldable one on the other and having' their outer edges contoured to a bust and hip shape, and a looped Wire slidable in guides on the lower end oit' each section `for lengthening the sections.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of tvvo subsoribing,` Witnesses,

PATRICK F. QUINN.

Witnesses:

P. B. PHILIPP, T. F. KEHOE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

